Having lost all hope; in a state of complete hopelessness or despair.
Past tense of despair from Old French desperer, from Latin desperare (to lose hope), from de- (completely) + sperare (to hope). The sense has remained consistent since medieval times.
When someone is 'despaired,' they're not just sad—their brain has actually stopped looking for solutions, which is why despair is psychologically different from sadness and requires active hope-rebuilding to escape.
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